


Deceit

by Aurorealis



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Deception, Dessert & Sweets, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-08-17
Packaged: 2017-12-23 18:23:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/929642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurorealis/pseuds/Aurorealis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>fill for prompt: <br/>"Anon was re-reading the manga and got to the part where Eren rescues Mikasa from her kidnappers. Looking back, he actually pulls off the "scared little kid lost in the woods" act very well. (Right up to the point he slits the man's throat) </p><p>So, what if deceptions like that come easy to Eren, and he just doesn't do it often because he prefers to handle everything directly. "</p><p>Who cared if  Eren was good at  tricking people and making them do stuff for him? Just because Eren liked to be honest most of the time didn't mean he was an idiot incapable of using a talent that came naturally to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deceit

**Author's Note:**

> haha wow I had a really hard time tagging this. Also I didn't check my spelling woops

“Jaeger, I refuse to go into that store while you look like... that. You're a slob.” Corporal Levi gave Eren a sharp look, gesturing at his attire. Eren personally didn't think it was all that bad. “Sir, I did just come here from training.” The shorter man only glowered further. “It's not my problem you refused to spend some time on basic hygiene. If you had time to change out of uniform, you had time to clean. The recon corps has an image to maintain, you know.”

Eren scratched the side of his head, finding that some dirt actually did come off. “Not to sound impudent sir, but I am out of uniform. People around here won't recognize me, unless they were somehow at the court session.” He explained. Corporal Levi wasn't impressed. “Yes, but use your tiny brain for a moment. I'm here, and they will most definitely recognize me.” Belatedly, Eren realized the truth to that statement. Who else fit the description of 'really short, grumpy faced male with the recon corps cloak'? 

“Can you wait outside the store for me, then? I won't be long.” Corporal Levi snorted at Eren's suggestion. “Are you an idiot? The only reason I'm here is because you have to be supervised. What if you turned into a titan while reaching for...” He paused to look more closely at the store front, “a loaf of bread? Why would you want to visit a bakery? What, do we not feed you enough?” 

Eren shrugged. “No, I'm looking for a specific type of pastry. Armin said he found it here. No offense Corporal, but you could have sent Hange or Mike. They could easily deal with me.” Eren really wasn't sure why the Corporal had come, after all he was just taking advantage of a little down time. Generally Levi was too busy for these sorts of things, even if he was officially supposed to be in charge of Eren.

“Because, brat, I was curious as to why you purposely made yourself look like a ragged delinquent.” Ah, so he had noticed. Eren hadn't been sure, since Corporal Levi was always fussy about that sort of thing. “It makes it easier.” Eren explained. Corporal Levi snorted. “Trying to be mysterious now, Jaeger? Just explain what the hell you're trying to accomplish here.”

“Sure”, Eren shrugged, “If you let me in the bakery, you can find out.” He answered easily. Honestly, they were wasting time out here and he wasn't even sure if he would succeed. It had been a while since Eren had done this, with the whole titan and recon corps thing. The last time he'd had a chance to do anything for leisure was before the whole Trost battle. Corporal Levi narrowed his eyes even further than usual. “ You're starting to sound insubordinate. But fine.” Eren nodded gratefully. “Okay sir, when we get in, please pretend you're not with me. It won't work, otherwise.”

Corporal Levi sniffed, letting out a grimace. “You don't need to ask me that, Jaeger.” Eren smiled. “Alright, then.” And without further warning, stepped into the building. The delicious scent of fresh dough billowed into him as the door shut behind him. From that moment, the mask went on. Eren adopted a frightened, pitiful look. Not too nervous though, or the clerk would think he had something to hide. Not too sad either, or he would just garner disgust instead of sympathy. He scuttled between the aisles, trying to spot the treat Armin had mentioned, while also making sure that the clerk saw him. 

The door jingled again, that would be Corporal Levi coming in a moment later. True to his word, the Corporal strayed away from Eren while staying within view. Eren had to give the guy credit, it was pretty convincing. Eren turned in the other direction to reciprocate the act, and then he saw it. Creamy tarts, piled with fresh fruits and served on flaky pastry. The kind of stuff that he, Armin, and Mikasa could only dream of affording when they were kids. The kind of stuff you could only ever get if you were dishonest, or had tons of money to burn. Eren couldn't help but glance to his superior. No doubt someone like Corporal Levi could afford something frivolous like fruit tarts. Eren usually liked to go the honest, direct route. But it wasn't often he did this, and it was always for special occasions. Last week was Mikasa's birthday after all, and this was what she requested. She knew how he was going to get it anyways, so Eren figured he was morally in the clear.

Carefully, Eren selected the three that looked most delicious. In the corner of his eye, Corporal Levi gave a slightly startled look. But Eren couldn't spare anymore thought to the Corporal, it was time to do his thing. He brought the tarts to the counter, looking for all the world like an overly eager puppy. A ratty, homeless puppy. “Hi, miss! I'd like to get these three tarts!” Eren smiled brightly at the clerk, a female with a slightly concerned expression. She had seen him come in, and had guessed from his state of dress that he'd never be able to afford it. She'd be right, of course. Eren had seen to that. The woman furrowed her eyebrows at the dilemma, then looked at Eren again. He widened his eyes slightly, but didn't quite give a puppy-dog look. That would be laying it on too thick. 

“A-all right, that'll be... this much.” She stuttered slightly as she read out the exact price. With an air of someone who had just accomplished something great, Eren laid out an amount that couldn't even cover one of the tarts. The lady looked like she had been stabbed through the heart- from looking, she knew it wouldn't be enough. But before she could say anything, Eren scratched the back of his hair and grinned. “I really hope it's enough. I've been saving for months!” he announced proudly. The clerk looked up sharply, pain on her features. She carefully counted, and counted again. As if in the mood to make conversation, Eren continued. “I want to surprise my family. Mom always said that she wanted to have a fruit tart from here, but we can't afford it since she broke her legs when the titans invaded here. Me and my sister and brother try to work instead.” 

The clerk gulped. “I... I'm really sorry, but... this isn't quite enough.” Of course, Eren knew he wouldn't get away with it right away. Time for part two. He put on a gaping, anguished expression. “No way, my boss told me for sure these coins were worth enough! He said it was enough to stay a whole night at an inn!” Eren sniffed slightly, turning his head. “Do these cost more than an inn stay?” The woman waved her hands frantically. “Of course not! An inn would be much more. Why would your boss tell you that?” Eren shrugged sadly. “I... can't read the coins. I don't know how to read, and I never deal with the shopping, so I can't tell them apart. My boss said these were each worth a bag of apples, though.”

“Oh, oh dear, I'm so sorry. A bag of apples would cost about this much.” She pushed a sizable pile of the coins aside to demonstrate. Eren knew this, naturally, but gave a dismayed moan instead. The tears came naturally. “R-really? I guess my boss was lying to me. I'm so stupid!” He shakily reached a grimy hand up to wipe the tears away, leaving a dirt stain. “Sorry, it's j-just... my mom was gonna be so happy.” Eren let his voice hitch. The clerk bit her lips in distress. “Don't cry, please. I'm sorry!” The clerk apologized frantically. Eren tilted his chin up to give her a full look at his eyes. She was in deep enough that the theatrics would fool her. “I'm not crying! I just thou-I thought I finally saved up enough!” Eren sniffled. “How much more do I need?” Since he was a teenager now, Eren knew he had to at least pretend to be embarrassed by the crying. 

Luckily, he didn't need to pull any other cards. Something changed in the clerk's eyes. She stopped her fretting, instead gently clasping Eren's hand that had been wiping away tears with her own. “You know what, it's alright. Just take them. Okay? I'll cover for you.” Eren allowed his eyes to widen to saucers. “What!? You can't do that! I don't want to be a burden, I must be so far behind!” As predicted, the initial refusal only hardened her resolve. “No, no, it's fine. You don't want to disappoint your family, right? Let me bag them for you.” She whisked both the money and the tarts away, and in no time at all a full bag was placed in front of him. 

“I..I.. you'd really do that?” Eren whispered in awe. The woman gave a warm smile. “Just don't tell the owner, alright? And don't open the bag until you get home, alright?” Eren tilted his head to the side quizzically, but agreed anyways. He carefully lifted the bag up as if it were treasure- and to his current mask, that's what it was. “Thank you so much!” He bowed to the clerk, and took his prize out the door.

The second Eren was out of sight from the bakery windows, he sighed contentedly. That hadn't been too bad. He had half feared being too rusty. Being older didn't help. Once upon a time, Eren would have been able to get some cinnamon buns and maybe a dozen cookies as well. But being a teenager wasn't bad either, as Eren was lucky enough to retain some childish features. Enough to make many of the female victims blush, anyways. This one didn't but she wasn't in the right age bracket for that. They had to be either young like him, or elderly for that. 

“What the hell was that, Jaeger?” Corporal Levi's smooth voice took Eren by surprise. He had almost forgotten the Corporal's presence. “I... was getting some fruit tarts, sir.” Eren held the bag up as proof. The bag jingled, and Eren gave an honest grin this time. “She even left all the money offered, too.” 

“I can see that.” Corporal Levi remarked dryly. “What I want to know is when you learned to be so damn manipulative, and why.” If Eren didn't know any better, he'd think that the corporal sounded impressed. “Well, it was Mikasa's birthday last week. She said she wanted fruit tarts. I wanted one for Armin and for myself, so I got three. And I guess I've always been good at that. In the sense that I can get people to give me stuff for free, anyways.” It was true, even before the time he rescued Mikasa, Eren would trick vendors into giving him food. His mom would always scold him for it, too. But it was worth it because Eren wouldn't have tasted nearly so many treats if he never fooled adults. Fruits were always so expensive, except for a choice few, like apples.

The corporal looked almost disturbed. “You know, I could bring these right back and rat you out. That would be the responsible thing to do as your superior officer.” Eren saw right through that though. Corporal Levi was eying the bag of tarts with consideration. Maybe he actually didn't make enough money to just buy fruit tarts on a whim? They were quite expensive. Either that or he was considering what else Eren could score with his mask? 

“Did you want me to get you something in the same way, sir? I probably could but at a different place of course.” Corporal Levi gave Eren a harsh glare. “You think I'm as poor as you? I don't need to act like a homeless brat to get what I want.” After a moment, his glare faltered into something more calculating. “But you can bet your ass I'm testing this deceptive ability of yours. As dumb as you always act, I wouldn't have imagined you could pull it off.” Eren laughed. “Well, I normally like being more direct about things. Mikasa and Armin tell me I'm a natural though, when I want to be.” Corporal Levi merely turned away and began walking, prompting Eren to match his steps. “ I don't care what you normally like to do. Your first test is to get me some chocolate. And none of that cheap shit, either. I'm expecting nothing worth less than a week of your pay.”

 

When Eren and Levi finally made it back to headquarters, Hange was at the entrance. “Ah, Levi! Eren! You guys were gone so long! I've thought of at least eight different experiments while you've been lazing abou- why do you have a cart full of stuff..?” Eren kept the bag of tarts with him, and dodged Hange easily. Mikasa and Armin were waiting on him, after all. 

“Oh my gosh, how did you afford all this!? Is that dark chocolate imported from wall Sina? And wine from the vineyards of west Maria? They say there's only a hundred bottles left since it's fall! Oh, oh, you couldn't have gotten real beef tenderloin steaks. Erwin is going to kill you for ruining his budget.” 

Eren didn't stay to hear Corporal Levi's explanation, instead making his way inside, where Mikasa and Armin were waiting patiently. “Hey, happy birthday Mikasa!” Eren called cheerfully as a greeting, finding them both loitering in the mess hall. “Oh hey, you're back.” Armin waved. Mikasa allowed a small smile as she quietly accepted the bag of tarts, sliding all three out. Her smile grew slightly as she noticed the bottom of the bag. “They left your money. You can use it this thanksgiving.” Eren nodded “That's what I was thinking. I think I feel like pumpkin pie this time. Some cider too.” It didn't really matter what it was, as long as it wasn't too precious. “Hmm, that sounds good. Didn't you get a whole triple decked cake last time?” 

“Yeah that was for the whole 104th though. I was lucky for that one though, the owner's daughter was working that store.” Eren sat back in his seat comfortably with his fruit tart. He'd go back to being direct and honest soon enough, right after he finished the hard earned reward.

Less than a week later, Eren was sent out with a long grocery list, the emptied cart, and barely a handful of coins. Corporal Levi claimed that it was another test of his abilities. Hange didn't even pretend, calling out as they left. “Eren, if you want to be a good boy, be sure to get as many of those chocolates as you can! Those are Levi's favourites! Oh, and get the eclairs with the thick chocolate drizzle, alright?”


End file.
